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Man Charged With Threatening to Kill Justin Trudeau Says He’s a Secret Hillary Clinton Agent

James Platts was arraigned on Wednesday in an Ontario courtroom, facing charges of uttering threats. He reportedly has a history of mental illness.
Justin Ling
Montreal, CA
AP

A 57-year-old man has been charged with threatening to assassinate Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and murder 10 female members of Parliament, and kidnap their children.

James Platts was arraigned on Wednesday in an Ontario courtroom, facing charges of uttering threats. A judge ordered that Platts undergo mental assessment, that he not contact the current — or former — prime minister, or any female MPs, and released him on bail.

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Platts used the opportunity to declare that he was the head of Canada's secret service, and that he was a secret agent working for American presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, according to Northumberland News.

The Windsor, Ontario resident is said to have a history of violence.

He was arrested after passengers and staff on the train overheard him, seemingly, plotting to murder the sitting prime minister over his cellphone. He also reportedly asked: "what about the bomb and anthrax?"

It's not clear who Platts was on the phone with, and police say they have not found any explosives or chemicals on the train.

The court was told that Platts visited 24 Sussex Drive — which is normally the prime minister's residence, although it is currently under renovation — before boarding the train to Toronto.

Platts reportedly has a history of mental illness, and suffers from bipolar disorder.

Adam Vaughan, an MP representing downtown Toronto, said that they had not been briefed on any specific threat, but called it "disturbing."

The Prime Minister's Office released a statement saying, "we have complete faith in the police authorities and the RCMP Protective Policing Service when it comes to the security of the Prime Minister and his family."

Follow Justin Ling on Twitter: @justin_ling